Allentown child rape trial opens with graphic testimony

Nelson Martinez Jr. is on trial on charges of rape of a child. (APRIL BARTHOLOMEW, THE MORNING CALL/FILE PHOTO)

Laurie Mason Schroeder, Of The Morning Call

Jurors deciding the case of an Allentown man charged with raping a child heard graphic testimony as the trial opened Tuesday in Lehigh County Court.

Nelson Martinez Jr., 46, is accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a young girl, starting when she was 10 years old. He denies the charges.

The alleged victim, now 12, told the jury that Martinez began the abuse by asking her if she liked boys and offering to teach her how to kiss. It quickly escalated to Martinez's exposing himself to her and touching her sexually, she said.

She described Martinez showing her "dirty" websites and taking her to adult bookstores in Allentown and Bethlehem, where he would leave her in his car while he went inside and bought sex toys.

The soft-spoken seventh-grader said she was afraid to tell anyone about the assaults because she feared she would be punished.

"It made me feel disgusting," she testified. "Really weirded out."

Chief Deputy District Attorney Matthew Falk told the jury that it will hear other evidence to corroborate the girl's story, including a Lehigh Valley Hospital doctor who will describe injuries the girl sustained in one rape.

A friend of the girl who allegedly witnessed one assault is also expected to take the stand.

Police received a report about Martinez in February 2013. He was arrested several weeks later, following an investigation.

Glenn Goodge, Martinez's attorney, urged the jury to remain skeptical until they've heard all the testimony.

"Significant details have been contradicted to a very large degree," Goodge said. "There's something very wrong with this story. Something that just doesn't ring true."

Falk asked the jurors to consider what motivation the child would have for lying. He promised to present witnesses who would describe Martinez's bizarre behavior at a prior hearing in the case.

"The defendant was touching himself while [the girl] was testifying," Falk said.

Martinez is charged with rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, corrupting the morals of a minor and related counts. If convicted, he could face more than 20 years in state prison.

Judge Kelly Banach is overseeing the trial, which is expected to last several days. Martinez is being held in the county jail under $500,000 bail.